Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Burundi
Burundi: Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas was 70.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Burundi, 1998–2024
Source: SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of urban population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Burundi is 70.0%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
That represents a change of up 7.7% on the previous year and up 34.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Burundi peaked at 70.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 39.6%, in 2008.
That places Burundi 202nd out of 212 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Burundi, year by year
| Year | % of urban population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 60.6% | — |
| 1999 | 50.5% | -16.6% |
| 2000 | 49.6% | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 49.9% | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 50.2% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 50.5% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 50.8% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 45.0% | -11.4% |
| 2006 | 51.5% | +14.4% |
| 2007 | 51.8% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 39.6% | -23.6% |
| 2009 | 52.6% | +32.8% |
| 2010 | 49.0% | -6.8% |
| 2011 | 53.4% | +9.0% |
| 2012 | 58.5% | +9.6% |
| 2013 | 52.4% | -10.4% |
| 2014 | 52.1% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 56.5% | +8.4% |
| 2016 | 57.6% | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 61.8% | +7.3% |
| 2018 | 59.8% | -3.2% |
| 2019 | 60.8% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 60.5% | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 62.8% | +3.8% |
| 2022 | 64.0% | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 65.0% | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 70.0% | +7.7% |
Burundi compared with similar countries
- Burundi's 70.0% is below the median for low income countries, which is 77.0%, 91% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
- Burundi's 70.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 85.3%, 82% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Burundi changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | +32.8% | 39.6% | 52.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 55.6% | 50.5% | 60.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 49.1% | 39.6% | 52.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 56.2% | 49.0% | 61.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 64.5% | 60.5% | 70.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Burundi
More energy & mining data for Burundi
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 0.9446 % change on previous year (2024)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fuel imports 22.1% (2023)
- Ores and metals imports 1.1% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Burundi?
- Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas in Burundi was 70.0% in 2024, according to SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Burundi?
- The highest recorded value was 70.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Burundi?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.6% in 2008.
- How does Burundi rank for access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas?
- Burundi ranks 202nd out of 212 countries with data for 2024.
- Is access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas rising or falling in Burundi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Burundi data come from?
- The figures come from SDG 7.1.1 Electrification Dataset, World Bank, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Access to electricity in urban vs. rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The definition used in international statistics adopts a very low cutoff for what it means to ‘have access to electricity’. It is defined as having an electricity source that can provide very basic lighting, and charge a phone or power a radio for 4 hours per day.